New Guide for
Selection of Assessors for Sensory Testing

WK30847

1. Scope

Selection of assessors can have a direct effect on the outcome of any sensory or consumer test. This document includes broad principles covering the selection of assessors, general strategies for screening and recruiting assessors, and examines approaches and issues with the development and maintenance of panels and/or pools of assessors for testing. The objective of this guide is to disseminate good sensory and consumer testing practices. More specifically, this document examines the issues surrounding the appropriate selection of assessors, provides guidelines for the selection of respondents for sensory testing, the qualifications necessary to participate in different sensory tests, the benefits and limitations of selecting certain assessors (e.g. employees vs. non employees, trained vs. untrained), the type of test to be conducted, and any additional considerations. The document will be dvisided into 3 major areas: selction of assessors for consumer/affective testing, descriptive testing, and difference testing.

This document will contain not only a summary of the information contained in other guides relative to selection assessors but also additional information such as screening and recruiting methods and maintenance of panels of assessors in addition to practical considerations.

Keywords

respondents; consumers; screener; qualitative; quantitative

The title and scope are in draft form and are under development within this ASTM Committee.